$4.8bn Investment Deal Signed with South Korea

Source: Daily News Egypt 12/17/2013, Location: Africa

Egypt and South Korea signed a contract to construct a petrochemical plant in Egypt, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says will include $4.8bn of investment and create tens of thousands of jobs during construction and operation.

The petrochemical plant will be constructed in Ain Sokhna and is expected to create 20,000 jobs during construction and a further 20,000 jobs to operate the plant once built. South Korea is contributing approximately 30% of the total cost of the project, which is being “implemented by an international consortium led by [South] Korean company SK Engineering & Construction.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy oversaw the signing ceremony of the contract during the second leg of his tour of Asia. The minister met with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se on Tuesday to discuss relations between their two countries. The ministers “agreed on the importance of joint action in order to further develop and deepen these relations in various fields, political, economic, trade and tourism.”

Yun emphasised the importance of South Korea’s trade and economic relationship with Egypt, adding that South Korean investments in Egypt will increase as stability returns to Egypt, according to the ministry statement.

Fahmy also met with the speaker of the South Korean Parliament and they discussed issues relating to the Middle East, including the Syrian conflict and the upcoming Geneva 2 conference, the ongoing Israel-Palestinian final status negotiations and Egypt’s efforts to create a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Fahmy was also given a presentation of the security and political situation on the Korean peninsula.

During his time in Seoul, Fahmy met with African and Arab ambassadors to discuss issues relating to Africa and the Arab World. He stressed to them that Egypt’s current foreign is designed to “maximise its national interests and confirm the independence of its policy decisions.”

Seoul is the second stop on a six day tour of Asia; he had previously visited China and is expected to end his tour in Japan, returning to Egypt.